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  • Vintage Audio Systems

    Thought I'd start out with this one that never had the occasion to ever hear.

    Click image for larger version

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    Myles B. Astor, PhD, Administrator
    Senior Editor, Positive-Feedback.com
    ________________________________________

    -Zellaton Plural Evo speakers
    -Goldmund Telos 440 and 1000 Nextgen mono amps
    -Goldmund Mimesis 37S Nextgen preamplifier
    -Doshi EVO and Goldmund PH3.8 phonostage
    -VPI Vanquish direct-drive turntable
    -VPI 12-inch 3D Fat Boy dual pivot tonearm, VPI 12-inch 3D Fat Boy gimballed and SAT LM-12 arm
    -Lyra Atlas SL Lambda, vdh Colibri Master Signature, Mutech Hayabusa,
    -Technics RS1506 with Flux Magnetic heads, Doshi V3.0 tape stage (balanced)
    -Assorted cables including Skogrand, Kubala-Sosna, Audience FrontRow; Audience FrontRow, Genesis Advanced Technologies , Goldmund and Ensemble Power Cords
    -Accessories including Stillpoint Aperture panels, Cathedral Sound panels, Furutech NCF Nano AC receptacles; Silver Circle Tchaik 6 PLC, Symposium ISIS and SRA Craz 3 racks, Audiodharma Cable Cooker, Symposium Ultra and assorted SRA OHIO Class 2.3+ platforms.

  • #2
    Click image for larger version

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    Myles B. Astor, PhD, Administrator
    Senior Editor, Positive-Feedback.com
    ________________________________________

    -Zellaton Plural Evo speakers
    -Goldmund Telos 440 and 1000 Nextgen mono amps
    -Goldmund Mimesis 37S Nextgen preamplifier
    -Doshi EVO and Goldmund PH3.8 phonostage
    -VPI Vanquish direct-drive turntable
    -VPI 12-inch 3D Fat Boy dual pivot tonearm, VPI 12-inch 3D Fat Boy gimballed and SAT LM-12 arm
    -Lyra Atlas SL Lambda, vdh Colibri Master Signature, Mutech Hayabusa,
    -Technics RS1506 with Flux Magnetic heads, Doshi V3.0 tape stage (balanced)
    -Assorted cables including Skogrand, Kubala-Sosna, Audience FrontRow; Audience FrontRow, Genesis Advanced Technologies , Goldmund and Ensemble Power Cords
    -Accessories including Stillpoint Aperture panels, Cathedral Sound panels, Furutech NCF Nano AC receptacles; Silver Circle Tchaik 6 PLC, Symposium ISIS and SRA Craz 3 racks, Audiodharma Cable Cooker, Symposium Ultra and assorted SRA OHIO Class 2.3+ platforms.

    Comment


    • jonathanhorwich
      jonathanhorwich commented
      Editing a comment
      Myles, the first system you show is the Levinson HQD (Hartley Quad Decca) which I owned for several years. I had pure class A levinson ML-2 amplifiers on them tri-amped. The midrange/highs were stunning. The Hartley subs were nowhere near as good as todays subs but good enough. The overall system really was breathtaking in tonality and nuance. Single Quads obviously do many things better but for overall impact, image height the HQD was really something. I'm still convinced if someone put the time in they could create a Quad 57 system that could obviate the faults of the 57s in terms of image height, deep bass, impact, etc. (Note in the picture you'll see a horizontal section dividing the two Quads. Behind that was the Decca tweeter.)

    • Garth
      Garth commented
      Editing a comment
      thats a lot of orange in photo one black or dark grey would have been better

  • #3
    A few years back I was fast heading for a vintage system by doing nothing. I found a dealer who was willing to take the electronics on trade in but not the speakers too big to old.

    Took him a long time to sell it off.

    Comment


    • #4
      Is that Sinatra?
      Magnepan 1.6 QR Loudspeakers, Amherst A-2000 MOSFET 150 WPC Amp, Conrad Johnson PV-10A Modded Tube Line & Phono Stage, Electrocompaniet MC II Class A Head Amp, Audio Technica AT-OC9XML Cart (Stereo) , Graham Engineering 2.2 Tonearm (Stereo) , VPI Aries-1 Turntable (Stereo) , VPI Clamp, Denon DL-102 Cart, (Mono) , Luxman Tonearm (Mono) , Kenwood KD-500 Turntable (Mono) , Michell Clamp, Marantz 20B Analog FM Tuner, Pioneer SACD, Onkyo DX-6800 CD Transport, DIY 24B/192K DAC, Sennheiser HD-650 Headphones, Headroom Max Balanced Headphone Amp, DIY Silver Interconnects

      Comment


      • #5
        Originally posted by JCOConnell
        Is that Sinatra?
        Uh huh! 😎

        Check out the R2R.
        Myles B. Astor, PhD, Administrator
        Senior Editor, Positive-Feedback.com
        ________________________________________

        -Zellaton Plural Evo speakers
        -Goldmund Telos 440 and 1000 Nextgen mono amps
        -Goldmund Mimesis 37S Nextgen preamplifier
        -Doshi EVO and Goldmund PH3.8 phonostage
        -VPI Vanquish direct-drive turntable
        -VPI 12-inch 3D Fat Boy dual pivot tonearm, VPI 12-inch 3D Fat Boy gimballed and SAT LM-12 arm
        -Lyra Atlas SL Lambda, vdh Colibri Master Signature, Mutech Hayabusa,
        -Technics RS1506 with Flux Magnetic heads, Doshi V3.0 tape stage (balanced)
        -Assorted cables including Skogrand, Kubala-Sosna, Audience FrontRow; Audience FrontRow, Genesis Advanced Technologies , Goldmund and Ensemble Power Cords
        -Accessories including Stillpoint Aperture panels, Cathedral Sound panels, Furutech NCF Nano AC receptacles; Silver Circle Tchaik 6 PLC, Symposium ISIS and SRA Craz 3 racks, Audiodharma Cable Cooker, Symposium Ultra and assorted SRA OHIO Class 2.3+ platforms.

        Comment


        • #6
          Originally posted by JCOConnell
          Is that Sinatra?
          He probably had custom 3 channel mixed down master tapes of his own music to play for that dog.

          Comment


          • #7
            Wonder if he had the color tv wired to the stereo for early home theater????
            Magnepan 1.6 QR Loudspeakers, Amherst A-2000 MOSFET 150 WPC Amp, Conrad Johnson PV-10A Modded Tube Line & Phono Stage, Electrocompaniet MC II Class A Head Amp, Audio Technica AT-OC9XML Cart (Stereo) , Graham Engineering 2.2 Tonearm (Stereo) , VPI Aries-1 Turntable (Stereo) , VPI Clamp, Denon DL-102 Cart, (Mono) , Luxman Tonearm (Mono) , Kenwood KD-500 Turntable (Mono) , Michell Clamp, Marantz 20B Analog FM Tuner, Pioneer SACD, Onkyo DX-6800 CD Transport, DIY 24B/192K DAC, Sennheiser HD-650 Headphones, Headroom Max Balanced Headphone Amp, DIY Silver Interconnects

            Comment


            • #8
              Originally posted by MylesBAstor
              Thought I'd start out with this one that never had the occasion to ever hear.

              [ATTACH=CONFIG]n8863[/ATTACH]
              It looks like the HQD (Hartley - Quad - Decca) system, although we do not see the subs. Perhaps the black amplifier at the right side of the Audio Research is a Mark Levinson ML9 being used for the subs ... I helped a friend building such system in the late 70's - early 80's, using the Mark Levinson active crossovers. The 500 liter 24" woofers (double 1" wall plywood, thin sand filled between them) weighted more than 1000 lbs. The system sounded impressive, but very dependent on recordings - sublime with some ones, unbalanced with others. By far the deepest and having more attack bass I have listened to. Anyway a real proof that you can have the best bass, the best middlle and the best treble, but not enough to have the perfect sound!

              Later my friend decided to part with the system and I got the ESL63 stack - it created a wall of sound in my room with an wonderful and lively medium. Greater than life scale, but fantastic for ECM acoustic recordings - vibraphones and pianos had an wonderful sonority.
              Last edited by microstrip; 03-26-2016, 10:29 AM.
              My opinions rely on listening mainly to acoustical, non amplified music. I do not care about electronic music or listening to rock at stadium levels, but I enjoy Mahler and Shostakovitch.

              Comment


              • MylesBAstor
                MylesBAstor commented
                Editing a comment
                LOL....the Chinese menu approach doesn't always work!

              • jonathanhorwich
                jonathanhorwich commented
                Editing a comment
                Weren't the Quads 57s? You mentioned ESL63's.

            • #9
              Something from not long after I caught the audiophile virus.

              Click image for larger version

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              Myles B. Astor, PhD, Administrator
              Senior Editor, Positive-Feedback.com
              ________________________________________

              -Zellaton Plural Evo speakers
              -Goldmund Telos 440 and 1000 Nextgen mono amps
              -Goldmund Mimesis 37S Nextgen preamplifier
              -Doshi EVO and Goldmund PH3.8 phonostage
              -VPI Vanquish direct-drive turntable
              -VPI 12-inch 3D Fat Boy dual pivot tonearm, VPI 12-inch 3D Fat Boy gimballed and SAT LM-12 arm
              -Lyra Atlas SL Lambda, vdh Colibri Master Signature, Mutech Hayabusa,
              -Technics RS1506 with Flux Magnetic heads, Doshi V3.0 tape stage (balanced)
              -Assorted cables including Skogrand, Kubala-Sosna, Audience FrontRow; Audience FrontRow, Genesis Advanced Technologies , Goldmund and Ensemble Power Cords
              -Accessories including Stillpoint Aperture panels, Cathedral Sound panels, Furutech NCF Nano AC receptacles; Silver Circle Tchaik 6 PLC, Symposium ISIS and SRA Craz 3 racks, Audiodharma Cable Cooker, Symposium Ultra and assorted SRA OHIO Class 2.3+ platforms.

              Comment


              • Letsmakeadeal
                Letsmakeadeal commented
                Editing a comment
                Boy were that Vandersteen 2Cs great speakers. Still are...

            • #10
              My listening room back in the early 1980s. Vintage late 70s Acoustat Monitors with built in Servo Charge amps, PS Audio 4h preamp (used only as a passive with the line stage disabled) and my brand new at the time Linn LP12 (Valhalla, Ittok and a Talisman S). Cables to the speakers were probably Kimber KC-1, through might have still been Monster Interlink 4. 20 foot cables were expensive!
              Steve Lefkowicz
              Senior Associate Editor at Positive Feedback
              -
              Analog 1: Linn LP12 (MOSE/Hercules II), Ittok, Dynavector 10X5 MK.II Low, iPhono2/iPowerX; Analog 2: Pro-Ject RPM-1 Carbon, Talisman S, iFi iPhono.
              Digital: Geekom Mini PC (i5, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, JRiver Media Center 29, Tidal HiFi, Qobuz Studio), iFi NEO iDSD, iFi iUSB3, iPurifier2, Audioquest Jitterbug FMJ.
              Electronics: Khozmo Stereo Passive with AMRG Ladder Attenuator and "NewClassD" Active Stage, Antique Sound Labs MG-SI15DT-S, Burson Timekeeper Virtuoso
              Speakers: Tekton Perfect SET 15, Tekton Lore, Magneplaner .7, GoldenEar BRX
              Interconnects: Morrow Audio MA1, Vermouth Audio Black Pearl, Audioquest Evergreen
              Speaker cables: Morrow Audio SP4, Vermouth Audio Red Velvet, Audioquest Type 5
              Digital cables: Aural Symphonics USB, iFi Gemini twin-head USB.
              Accessories: Sound Organization turntable shelf, Mondo racks, Pangea Audio Vulcan rack, AV Room Services EVPs under the speakers, Pi Audio Group Über BUSS, Monster HTS2000 power conditioner, Kinetronics anti-static brush, Pro-Ject VC-S record cleaner, Spin Clean record cleaner.
              Headphones: Schiit Valhalla amp, Burson Conductor Virtuoso Amp, Meze Audio 99 Classic and 99 Neo, Beyerdynamic DT770Pro 600 ohm, 1More Triple Driver Over Ear, 1More Triple Driver IEM

              Comment


              • Steve Lefkowicz
                Steve Lefkowicz commented
                Editing a comment
                Actually, based on the color, I see this photo has the Kimber KC1s

            • #11
              Originally posted by Steve Lefkowicz
              My listening room back in the early 1980s. Vintage late 70s Acoustat Monitors with built in Servo Charge amps, PS Audio 4h preamp (used only as a passive with the line stage disabled) and my brand new at the time Linn LP12 (Valhalla, Ittok and a Talisman S). Cables to the speakers were probably Kimber KC-1, through might have still been Monster Interlink 4. 20 foot cables were expensive!
              Wow that must have sounded special!
              Myles B. Astor, PhD, Administrator
              Senior Editor, Positive-Feedback.com
              ________________________________________

              -Zellaton Plural Evo speakers
              -Goldmund Telos 440 and 1000 Nextgen mono amps
              -Goldmund Mimesis 37S Nextgen preamplifier
              -Doshi EVO and Goldmund PH3.8 phonostage
              -VPI Vanquish direct-drive turntable
              -VPI 12-inch 3D Fat Boy dual pivot tonearm, VPI 12-inch 3D Fat Boy gimballed and SAT LM-12 arm
              -Lyra Atlas SL Lambda, vdh Colibri Master Signature, Mutech Hayabusa,
              -Technics RS1506 with Flux Magnetic heads, Doshi V3.0 tape stage (balanced)
              -Assorted cables including Skogrand, Kubala-Sosna, Audience FrontRow; Audience FrontRow, Genesis Advanced Technologies , Goldmund and Ensemble Power Cords
              -Accessories including Stillpoint Aperture panels, Cathedral Sound panels, Furutech NCF Nano AC receptacles; Silver Circle Tchaik 6 PLC, Symposium ISIS and SRA Craz 3 racks, Audiodharma Cable Cooker, Symposium Ultra and assorted SRA OHIO Class 2.3+ platforms.

              Comment


              • #12
                In 1974 I was a college student and I purchase two used pair of Quad 57s and built some frames for them. They looked nothing as nice, but about the same design as those in your first picture. I drove them with two Quad amps and an ARC SP-3 and a big Sony DD turntable, a Kieth Monks tonearm and a Decca cartridge.

                Comment


                • #13
                  Originally posted by MylesBAstor

                  Wow that must have sounded special!
                  Honestly, it was one of the best sounding systems/rooms I've ever heard. Been chasing the memory of that ever since I sold the house and speakers in 1988. Acoustat lost a lot of their magic when they gave up the servo-charge amp for the Medallion transformers in an attempt to broaden the appeal to audiophiles who wanted to obsess over switching amps. If I ever have a room big enough again, I would love to find a working pair of these speakers again. Brooks Berdan had a pair in his store museum in Monrovia, but of course those items weren't for sale.
                  Steve Lefkowicz
                  Senior Associate Editor at Positive Feedback
                  -
                  Analog 1: Linn LP12 (MOSE/Hercules II), Ittok, Dynavector 10X5 MK.II Low, iPhono2/iPowerX; Analog 2: Pro-Ject RPM-1 Carbon, Talisman S, iFi iPhono.
                  Digital: Geekom Mini PC (i5, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, JRiver Media Center 29, Tidal HiFi, Qobuz Studio), iFi NEO iDSD, iFi iUSB3, iPurifier2, Audioquest Jitterbug FMJ.
                  Electronics: Khozmo Stereo Passive with AMRG Ladder Attenuator and "NewClassD" Active Stage, Antique Sound Labs MG-SI15DT-S, Burson Timekeeper Virtuoso
                  Speakers: Tekton Perfect SET 15, Tekton Lore, Magneplaner .7, GoldenEar BRX
                  Interconnects: Morrow Audio MA1, Vermouth Audio Black Pearl, Audioquest Evergreen
                  Speaker cables: Morrow Audio SP4, Vermouth Audio Red Velvet, Audioquest Type 5
                  Digital cables: Aural Symphonics USB, iFi Gemini twin-head USB.
                  Accessories: Sound Organization turntable shelf, Mondo racks, Pangea Audio Vulcan rack, AV Room Services EVPs under the speakers, Pi Audio Group Über BUSS, Monster HTS2000 power conditioner, Kinetronics anti-static brush, Pro-Ject VC-S record cleaner, Spin Clean record cleaner.
                  Headphones: Schiit Valhalla amp, Burson Conductor Virtuoso Amp, Meze Audio 99 Classic and 99 Neo, Beyerdynamic DT770Pro 600 ohm, 1More Triple Driver Over Ear, 1More Triple Driver IEM

                  Comment


                  • #14
                    Originally posted by Steve Lefkowicz
                    Honestly, it was one of the best sounding systems/rooms I've ever heard. Been chasing the memory of that ever since I sold the house and speakers in 1988. Acoustat lost a lot of their magic when they gave up the servo-charge amp for the Medallion transformers in an attempt to broaden the appeal to audiophiles who wanted to obsess over switching amps. If I ever have a room big enough again, I would love to find a working pair of these speakers again. Brooks Berdan had a pair in his store museum in Monrovia, but of course those items weren't for sale.
                    The first pair of Acoustats that I heard were the 1+1s at Sound by Singer's second location on Lexington and 34th St. IIRC they were being driven by Hafler 500s (ugh) and assisted by an ARC 6B and Linn turntable. Remember the ARC/solid-state combo was very popular back then. Despite the awful Hafler 500 (one of my worst all time audio purchasers ever!), the sound was pretty good. I'll never forget putting the first RLJ album on the Linn and hearing her body centered between the speakers and having that additional dimension of height.

                    A good friend however had the 1+1s and could never find an amplifier to drive the speakers. ARC, EAR, etc. no dice. Even the Accoustat TNT amplifier, one that I thought would be a great match, sounded positively horrible on the 1+1s. Just two dimensional, thin, washed out and pathetically compressed sounding. A poster child for the worst of solid-state sound back then. I think my buddy ended up with one of ARC amplifiers driving his 1+1s.
                    Myles B. Astor, PhD, Administrator
                    Senior Editor, Positive-Feedback.com
                    ________________________________________

                    -Zellaton Plural Evo speakers
                    -Goldmund Telos 440 and 1000 Nextgen mono amps
                    -Goldmund Mimesis 37S Nextgen preamplifier
                    -Doshi EVO and Goldmund PH3.8 phonostage
                    -VPI Vanquish direct-drive turntable
                    -VPI 12-inch 3D Fat Boy dual pivot tonearm, VPI 12-inch 3D Fat Boy gimballed and SAT LM-12 arm
                    -Lyra Atlas SL Lambda, vdh Colibri Master Signature, Mutech Hayabusa,
                    -Technics RS1506 with Flux Magnetic heads, Doshi V3.0 tape stage (balanced)
                    -Assorted cables including Skogrand, Kubala-Sosna, Audience FrontRow; Audience FrontRow, Genesis Advanced Technologies , Goldmund and Ensemble Power Cords
                    -Accessories including Stillpoint Aperture panels, Cathedral Sound panels, Furutech NCF Nano AC receptacles; Silver Circle Tchaik 6 PLC, Symposium ISIS and SRA Craz 3 racks, Audiodharma Cable Cooker, Symposium Ultra and assorted SRA OHIO Class 2.3+ platforms.

                    Comment


                    • MylesBAstor
                      MylesBAstor commented
                      Editing a comment
                      Yeah the Accoustats were one of those speakers (truthfully like many estats) in search of an amplifier. If only I had the right amplifier, this would be a world class speaker. Kind of like women who think they can reform those bad boys. It never works. We still have a few speakers like that around like that today too.

                    • Steve Lefkowicz
                      Steve Lefkowicz commented
                      Editing a comment
                      We we reviewed the 1+1 for Hi Fi Heretic (anyone remember that magazine?) we found the Eagle 2 to do a great job with it, as did a pair of Naim 135 monoblocks. It was just that the transformers weren't very transparent. We didn't care for the Acoustat amp much either.
                      On the Acoustat group on Facebook,it seems a lot of folks with 1+1 or 2+2 are swapping the Medallions out for rebuilt servo charge amps. I may be wrong, but I think Rodger Modjeski from RAM was doing a direct drive amp for them too.

                    • MylesBAstor
                      MylesBAstor commented
                      Editing a comment
                      I remember Hi-Fi Heretic!

                  • #15
                    Hi guys ,

                    Here is my current vintage system . Click image for larger version

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                    VPI HR-X Uni FatBoy 12 Lyra Kleos VPI TNT6 Aluminum Platter upgrade Kuzma Stogi Ref 313VTA Benz Micro Gullwing SLR
                    ARC REF Phono 2SE ARC REF 40 Anniv ARC REF 610T w/ KT120
                    Duntech C5000 Princess
                    Pair of Shunyata King Cobra CX Power Cord Pair of Synergistic Research Tesla Precision Power Cord Straightwire Interconnects Synergistic Research Tesla Apex Speaker Wires VPI Phono cable
                    Vintage: ARC SP10MK 2 preamp, a pair of ARC D79B’s ARC EC21 Electronic X Over Magnepan MG3A Rebuilt

                    Comment

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